Cockburn
/ St. Clair's Scorching New History of a Decade of War
Now Available!
Today's
Stories
May
22 / 23, 2004
Paul
de Rooij
Colin Powell, a Political Obituary
May
21, 2004
Ray
Close
The Canards of the Apologists
Christopher
Brauchli
"The Object of Torture is Torture"
Amira
Hass
Darkness at Noon
Jack
McCarthy
Camilo Mejia: Can the Son of a Sandinista Get a Fair Trial from
the US Army?
Bill
Kauffman
Nader v. Bush
Omar
Barghouti
No More Tears for America
Ghali
Hassan
Moral Failure of the "Free World" in Gaza
Christopher
Reed
How the CIA Taught the Portuguese to
Torture
Website
of the Day
Eric Idle on the Bush Administration: Fuck You, So Very Much
May
20, 2004
Andrew
Cockburn
The Truth About Chalabi
Kathy
Kelly
A Visit from the FBI
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
Brown and Bored of Education in India
Tom
Stephens & John Philo
The War Crimes of Bush, Cheney & Co.
Sam
Bahour / Michael Dahan
Genocide by Public Policy
Robert
Ovetz
Ending the Race for the Last Turtle
Billy
Wilson
The Most Important Thing I Learned at School This Year
Website
of the Day
Rafah Today
May
19, 2004
Elizabeth
W. Corrie
Caterpillar Should Do the Right Thing,
Now
Bill
and Kathleen Christison
The US Can't Win
Vijay
Prashad
For Whom the Polls Toll: the Indian Elections of 2004
Ray
Hanania
Israeli War Crimes: Who to Believe, AIPAC or Amnesty Intl.?
Greg
Moses
Man President Kisses Up at AIPAC
Michael
Gillespie
Who is Kenneth deGraffenried?
Josh
Frank
Homes Destroyed; Death Toll Mounts: But Where's John Kerry?
Gary
Corseri
Out of Iraq and Plato's Cave
Kevin
Alexander Gray
If Malcolm Were Alive
May
18, 2004
Neve
Gordon
The Gaza Debacle
Doug
Stokes
Imperial Policing: Why Abu Ghraib
Shouldn't Surprise Us
Bob
Wing
The Color of Abu Ghraib
Vanessa
Jones
Man on a Leash
Thomas
P. Healy
Chemical Trespass: the Body Burden
Zeynep
Toufe
Torture and Moral Agency: the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations
Kenneth
Roth
Mistreatment of Detainees in US Custody: a Letter to Bush
Elaine
Cassel
Pre-empting the Bill of Rights: The Other War, One Year Later
Website
of the Day
Truth Against Truth
May
17, 2004
Kurt
Nimmo
The John-John Ticket: Kerry Woos McCain
Laura
Santina
Military Conditioning and Abu Ghraib
Mickey
Z.
With Friends Like These: More Election 2004 Madness
Frederick
B. Hudson
Police Terror: Three Mothers Search for Justice
Shakirah
Esmail-Hudani
Inside Abu Ghraib: the Violence of the Camera
Boris
Leonardo Caro
The Revelations of Mr. W.
Alex
Dawoody
Iraq: From Saddam to Occupation
Victor
Kattan
On Watching the Execution of Nick Berg
Ron
Jacobs
Rumsfeld's Sovereignty Shell Game
May
15 / 16, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Green Lights for Torture
Douglas
Valentine
ABCs of American Interrogation: Phoenix Program, Revisited
John
Stanton
Kings of Pain: UK, US and Israel
Ben
Tripp
Torture: a Fond Reminiscence
Brian
Cloughley
Where are You Heading, America? Taking a Closer Look at the Patriot
Act
Justin
E. H. Smith
Islam and Democracy: the Lesson from Turkey
Brandy
Baker
Equal Opportunity Torture: Lynddie England, the Right and Feminism
John
Chuckman
Peep Show on Capitol Hill: Sex, Lies and Videotape
Bill
Glahn
RIAA Watch: Goon Squad
John
Holt
Fencing the Sky
Ron
Jacobs
The Power of Patti Smith
Brian
J. Foley
Why the Outrage Over Abu Ghraib?
Robin
Philpot
Re-writing the History of the Rwandan Genocide
Eric
Leser
The Carlyle Empire
Ray
Hanania
From Abu Ghraib to Nick Berg: There's No Such Thing as a Good
War Crime
Jeff
Halper
Dozers of Mass Destruction
Joe
Surkiewicz
Inside the Baltimore Detention Center
John
Whitlow
Iraq Goddamn
Michael
Leon
Invitation to a Beheading: Why Bush Should Watch the Berg Video
Poets'
Basement
Krieger, Ford, LaMorticella, Smith and Albert
May
14, 2004
Dr.
Susan Block
Bush's POW Porn
Ron
Jacobs
Secret History of the War on Drugs
William
Blum
God, Country and Torture
Michael
Donnelly
The People v. Corporate Greed: A Victory on the North Coast
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
India Shines
Stephen
Gowans
Building Democracy in Iraq and Other
Absurdities
May
13, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Where is Kerry?
Colm
O'Laithian
Torture and Degradation: Revenge American Style?
Saul
Landau and Farrah Hassan
Wal-Mart: Scrooge with Hi-Tech Accounting
Practices
Ralph
Nader
An Open Letter to Bush on the Inhumane Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners
Willliam
James Martin
Deir Yassin Massacre Recalled
Marc
Salomon
Reality TV Bites
Forrest
Hylton
Law 'n Order in La Paz: All Quiet
on the Southern Front?
May
12, 2004
Blanton
/ Kornbluh
Prisoner Abuse: Cheney Warned in
1992
Virginia
Tilley
So, Who's to Blame?
Bruce
Jackson
James Inhofe, the Dumbest Senator
of Them All
Thomas
P. Healy
No Enemies: Making Peace with Bert Sacks
Linda
S. Heard
Racism and Ignorance: a Lethal Cocktail in Iraq
Norman
Solomon
Spinning Torturegate
Lisa
Viscidi
The People's Voice: Community Radio in Guatemala
Jack
Heyman
View from the Bay Bridge: Longshoremen Plan Mass Workers March
on DC
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
Rummy's Reprieve
CounterPunch
Wire
Teamsters Corruption Scandal: Hoffa Exec. Assistant Alleged to
Have Quashed Investigation into Mob Influence
Christopher
Brauchli
Detention Camp, USA
William
S. Lind
Bush's Waterloo?
May 11, 2004
Mark
Engler
On the "Necessity" of Torture
Ray
McGovern
More Troops? A March of Folly
Kurt
Nimmo
Dirty Nukes and Jefferson's Grand Experiment
Mickey
Z.
Less Than Hero
Christopher
Reed
Torture on the Homefront: America's Long History of Prison Abuse
Dennis
Hans
When John Negroponte was Mullah Omar
Bruce
Jackson
Pete Seeger at 85
Mike
Whitney
Killing al Sadr
Simon
Helweg-Larsen
Shrinking the Guatemalan Military
William
A. Cook
The Unconscious Country: Righteous Indignation,
Nakedly Displayed
May
10, 2004
Robert
Fisk
From Hollywood to Abu Ghraib: Racism
and Torture as Entertainment
Wayne
Madsen
The Israeli Torture Template: Rape,
Feces and Urine-Soaked Cloth Sacks
Col.
Dan Smith
The Shame of Abu Ghraib
Joe
Bageant
John Ashcroft, Keep Your Mouth Off My Wife!
Ron
Jacobs
Rummy's Prisongate Blues: Don't Leave Mad; Just Leave
Ben
Tripp
Getting in Touch with Your Inner Savage
Ray
Hanania
Why They Hate Us: Racism, Bigotry and Abuse
Reza
Fiyouzat
"Mishandled" Invasions
Diane
Christian
Images & Abstractions &
Genitals
Website
of the Day
Crushing Iraqi Skulls with Tanks for Sport?
May
8 / 9, 2004
Cockburn
/ St. Clair
Torture: as American as Apple Pie
Adam
Jones
America's Srebrenica: What About the Hundreds of POWs Suffocated
and Shot at Kunduz?
Douglas
Valentine
Who Let the Dogs Out?: Torture, the CIA and the Press
Kurt
Nimmo
Rush Limbaugh and the Babes of Abu Ghraib
Brian
Cloughley
Humpty Dumpty is Falling
Lucia
Dailey
Forbidden Games
Joanne
Mariner
* * * *: Redacting Moussaoui
Mickey
Z.
Please Forgive U.S.? (There Are No Innocent Bystanders)
John
Chuckman
The Thing with No Brain
Doug
Giebel
Someone Knew: There Were No WMDs
Norm
Dixon
How the Bush Gang Exploited 9/11
Sam
Bahour
A Guiding Light Falls on Ramallah
Susan
Davis
Disorderly Conduct as Fine Art
Dave
Marsh
In a Pig's Eye: Alan Lomax, Dead But Still Stealing
Laura
Flanders
Life with Dick and Lynne
Dave
Zirin
Fans Push Spiderman Off Base
Carolyn
Baker
Why I Won't Vote in 2004
Prince
"Ain't No Sense in Voting"
Dr.
Susan Block
Onan for Two: Liberating Masturbation
Poets'
Basement
Smith, Sleeth, Ford, Albert and Saska
May
7, 2004
Human
Rights Watch
10 Prisons; 9,000 Prisoners: US Detention
Facilities in Iraq
Ron
Jacobs
UnAmerican? I Wish It Were So
Robert
Fisk
An Illegal and Immoral War
Ahmad
Faruqui
The 50th Anniversary of Dien Bien
Phu
Alexander
Zaitchik
From Terrell Unit in Texas to Abu Ghraib: Doesn't It Ring a (Prison)
Bell?
Mike
Whitney
The Price of Victory
Norman
Solomon
This War, Racism and Media Denial
M.
Shahid Alam
A Comic Apology
May
6, 2004
Jeffrey
St. Clair
They Did It for Jessica: Smeared with
Shit; Kicked to Death
Kathy
Kelly
May Day in Pekin Prison: Prison Labor
for the War Machine
Werther
The Sunk Cost Fallacy: War as Vegas
Casino Game
Lawrence
Ferlinghetti
Totalitarian Democracy
Robert
Fisk
"Smoke Him": Video Shows Wounded
Men Being Shot by US Helicopter
John
Janney
Torturing the Way to Freedom?
Christopher
Ketcham
Outlaw Heterosexual Marriage Now!
Alan
Farago
Dead Oceans: So Long, Thanks for the Fish
Sam
Hamod
Bush on Arab TV: Worthless and Demeaning
James
Brooks
Sullen Spring
William
S. Lind
On the Brink of Defeat in Iraq
May
5, 2004
Maj.
Gen. Antonio M. Taguba
Complete US Army Report on Abuse of
Iraqi Prisoners
Kathleen
and Bill Christison
Kerry: a Lost Cause for Progressives?
Will
Youmans
Deal with the Devil: a Palestinian
Zionist and the End of the World
Patrick
B. Barr
Terrorists R Us: the Powerful are Exempt from the Label
Lawrence
Magnuson
Nightline's All-American Morgue
Greg
Moses
Pocketbook of Denuded Ideals
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
Tormenting Prisoners, Torturing
Truth
Lee
Ballinger
Cinco de Mayo and Unity
Gilbert
Achcar
Bush's Cakewalk into the Iraq Quaqmire
Website
of the Day
Operation Phoenix & Iraq
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante
Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click
Here for More Stories.
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Weekend
Edition
May 22 / 23, 2004
The
Necrophilia War
Spc.
Sabrina Harmon and Her Corpse
By
ADRIEN RAIN BURKE
I just saw a picture of Spc. Sabrina
Harmon, posing with a dead body, her gloved thumb up, and a bright,
Miss America smile on her wholesome face.
And I am wondering what it
means. Is this the sweet all-american smile of a "bad apple?"
There is nothing of the vamp or stage murderess in her pose,
or her clothes, or expression. If she were wearing white pants
and shirt, with a green tie, she'd lcould be a 4-H-er, showing
off a prize melon for a seed catalog or almanac.
And yeah, it DOES bother me
more that she's a woman. One of her partners in crime, Spc. Charles
Graner, who similarly poses with the corpse, was, after all,
a prison guard. I know about prison guards--or I think I do.
But then, I have long held
some erroneous ideas about women, I guess. I used to point with
pride at the long centuries of female non-participation in the
bloodiest and most pointless work of civilization: war. It gave
me great satisfaction to know that--in general--women had not
made all those wars; had for the most part, not fought in them;
and, though the virtue or honor of women was occasionally brought
up as a cause or excuse for which men slaughtered each other,
we women were never in need of protection. . . . from other women.
In my ignorant bliss, I was
pleased to think, less flatteringly perhaps, that women were
probably incapable of being organized for war. Like herding cats.
They yawn and return to their all-important grooming. Should
you become insistent, they dematerialize without apology. No.
The innocent amorality of cats is a reproach to this grinning
girl grotesque beside her lifeless trophy.
For centuries, woman activists
have struggled valiantly for What is Right. Or what they thought
was right at the time. Abolition. Suffrage. And end to child
labor. Even when they had no legal power at all, they managed
to be in the forefront of those impostant human rights campaigns.
And, on the downside, Temperance, political correctness, and
idiotic non-solutions to crime, like California's Three Strikes
law, which has resulted in life sentences for shoplifting cookies
or videos.
Naive women might have been
(and it may be that such time-hallowed, hardened institutions
as slavery are only ended by naifs.) Foolhardy, in their persistence
in achieving the vote, for instance, which quest outlived most
of the original fighters. Ah, but they were gallant.And honorable.
And humane.
And now this grinning harridan
emerges from some unpleasant folktale of heartless womanhood
to put an end to any cherished stereotypes of feminine decency.
Where did we go wrong?
Believe me--I opposed the idea
of women in combat, or of drafting women to assist in the age-old,
ongoing, slaughter. Because I opposed war in general, and the
draft as involuntary servitude. In my dreamer's way, I wanted
rather to set men FREE of that old, ultimate tyranny, and I thought--I
hoped--that if women were given an equal voice in the affairs
of state, some balance would be restored, or brought to the world.
Other women wanted females
to prove themselves in combat. To earn their "equality"
by shedding blood, by disproving, once and for all, that woman's
biological equipment does not make her more sympathetic, less
violent, more peaceable. I knew this. And opposed it. And that
is one of the reasons I ultimately abandoned the feminist movement
as it exists today in America. I left it for something I thought
better and truer, only to be mocked by the triumphant Ms. Harmon,
gloating over a miserable corpse.
I worked for a new society
in which traditional female values would be honored, and women
empowered to contribute some understanding from their own history
and culture to male-dominated society. Instead, young women are
gleefully taking part in that brutal culture, proud to be "a
soldier too."
"The question he asks,
in all but words, is what to make of a diminished thing".
. . . .Robert Frost
I have noticed that if you
live long enough, you will see all of your most sacred notions
trampled and dishonored. I myself, have lived through times when
civic involvement was ridiculed; later I heard young people--too
young I thought, to abandon all ideals--parrot "greed is
good." I have lived to hear "Barbara Ann" turned
to "Bomb bomb Iran," and Christian doctrine turned
to a bloodthirsty Middle East policy. And I am happy to say I
have lived long enough to see another generation of activists
rise to struggle against indifference, and avarice, and all the
other deadly sins. But they are--as we were--an ungovernable
minority. The majority is proud to line up, sound off, and once
again, and turn their guns in the wrong direction--against the
cooked-up enemy of the day, instead of those who would send them
off to fight for plunder and conquest--oil and empire.
But what keeps coming to mind
as I see these photos of American, apple-faced kids, rotted in
the hothouse atmosphere of a prison into which hooded and dehumanized
inmates may disappear forever, is Lawrence Bittaker. Remember
him? In the late 70s, he and his accomplice Roy Norris, tortured
and murdered women and girls, and filmed their agony and death
for later delectation. He took still pictures of his victims
and autographed them for fellow inmates (and sold 'em too.) "Pliers"
Bittaker was not bright; he--like the prison guards at Abu Ghraib--in
obscene, oblivious glee, produced all the evidence needed to
convict him. And he was cruel--unbelievably cruel. Like Lynddie,
and Sabrina, and their cohorts. And yes, like their superiors--who
ordered or ignored or participated in--the evils that were done
in our name--in MY name--in the "liberated" nation
of Iraq.
I leave it to you to decide
just how far up the ladder the responsibility for this ugliness--this
American Ugliness--goes. To the top, I'd say. To those who decided
that the Geneva Conventions ("GENCONS") need not be
applied to OUR righteous cause. To those who slyly sent captives
to foreign countries to be "interrogated"--that their
hands would not be seen to bear the beastly bloodstains of the
torturer.
And to the bottom, too. To
a society that revels in cruel entertainments; in bloody but
self-righteous films; in racist, vicious talk about our "enemies"--whoever
they may be at the moment. To parents who don't teach their children
not to be cruel to animals, and to disdain those who are "not
our kind." To teachers and coaches who tolerate the jocks'
bullying. To a system content with vast, undemocratic disparities
in wealth and education.To everyone who decides that some people
are beneath their concern.
And to the women, who dreamed
of equality, and settled for shared brutishness. Is this the
egalitarian society we dreamed--a desexualized human grid of
autonatons in camouflage?
Better a thousand lives chained
to a kitchen sink.
Adrien
Rain Burke can be reached
at: eandubh@pacificnet.net
Weekend Edition
Features for May 15 / 16, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Green Lights for Torture
Douglas
Valentine
ABCs of American Interrogation: Phoenix Program, Revisited
John
Stanton
Kings of Pain: UK, US and Israel
Ben
Tripp
Torture: a Fond Reminiscence
Brian
Cloughley
Where are You Heading, America? Taking a Closer Look at the Patriot
Act
Justin
E. H. Smith
Islam and Democracy: the Lesson from Turkey
Brandy
Baker
Equal Opportunity Torture: Lynddie England, the Right and Feminism
John
Chuckman
Peep Show on Capitol Hill: Sex, Lies and Videotape
Bill
Glahn
RIAA Watch: Goon Squad
John
Holt
Fencing the Sky
Ron
Jacobs
The Power of Patti Smith
Brian
J. Foley
Why the Outrage Over Abu Ghraib?
Robin
Philpot
Re-writing the History of the Rwandan Genocide
Eric
Leser
The Carlyle Empire
Ray
Hanania
From Abu Ghraib to Nick Berg: There's No Such Thing as a Good
War Crime
Jeff
Halper
Dozers of Mass Destruction
Joe
Surkiewicz
Inside the Baltimore Detention Center
John
Whitlow
Iraq Goddamn
Michael
Leon
Invitation to a Beheading: Why Bush Should Watch the Berg Video
Poets'
Basement
Krieger, Ford, LaMorticella, Smith and Albert
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